I have to admit that I was skeptical because I grew up during the era when you wanted to possess the ball and run clock for as much of the game as you could so the other team could not have the ball on offense much, thereby limiting the other team’s scoring opportunities. Vince Dolley won 201 games doing exactly that. The strategy employed by Bobo and Richt runs 100% counter to that. But it seems to be working. I’ve become a convert.

Thanks to the delay of game earlier in the game, there were quite a few students around me yelling at Murray to snap the ball when the play clock got under 10. They also tried to start a countdown when the clock got down to 5 or so (didn’t work).

I thought it was pretty obvious we were running clock. For the whole second half. Auburn’s lucky we have a nice coach. We could’ve scored 60+ easily.

It makes no sense that people can jump off the “end Bobo” bandwagon this quickly. He has not proven he’s a competent coordinator, and the fact that he’s a former UGa player, married to the school’s legendary ex-coach’s daughter doesn’t add to his resume in my opinion.

If we had an offensive staff that was hired on merit, rather than the football program equivalent of nepotism, we would likely be in position to play for a national title – similar to ’07.

But for still painfully hideous losses to South Carolina (’07, ’11), Tennessee (’07) and Boise State (’11) we would have at least been given the chance to play for a BCS title.

Also, this is a good time to mention how excited I am about Will Friend. We have like 5 olinemen and are still showing significant improvement. Our oline has looked better the past few weeks than it has in years.

I thought Coach Richt was the man behind that hire and you may just be joking. But still. Either way, The early results with Friend look promising. Hopefully we can make oline a recruiting priority for a few years and get that position shored up finally.

See player execution for the Boise loss. I am sorry but u aint moving the ball when ur ONE receiver with true game experience drops balls, other receivers fall down while wide open, and running backs slip in the back field. Also see our O-line sucking balls vs their D-line.

I am sorry but every OC has games where the team is left scratching its head after its loss. now should that happen more then once a year no, but Bobo is fairly dependable. Then again Richt is the HC and he is an O guy. Thus even if we fired Bobo I do not think we would see a ton of change in the way our O operates.

I’d call that Mission 2 for Bobo. Mission 1 is getting the Bulldogs back to the SEC Championship Game. He’s right on track to accomplish that one as well, provided the team finishes the drill on Saturday.

Against Auburn, it was comical listening to the fans around me in 326 trying to come up with things to bitch about in regards to his play calling. They’re still trying, though!

So true…. Your seats must be near mine, I’m in 326 also. I must say it makes it so much more entertaining listening to the ridiculous comments from the folks behind us when the Dawgs are completely dominating in every phase if the game. I even heard a few “c’mon Bobo!!”s when Murray was checking down and burning the play clock as the game was well under control.

I wonder how smart Bobo would look with Willie Two Thumbs running the defense. Oh wait, I already know how: not very. A good defense makes Bobo look smarter, bottom line. Not saying he isn’t getting smarter, because he’s definitely trending up. But he’s not a mastermind yet.

Just for the sake of playing devil’s advocate, one could say that Willie Ball made Bobo look dumber, too. For a few years, Bobo had to call a game that not only produced points, but kept a shaky defense off the field. Now that the defense is competent again (and then some) he can be a bit more aggressive and the results are showing. It also doesn’t hurt that he has a 2nd year starter at QB that he trusts.

THIS. Dude, we scored points in BUNCHES over most of those Willie Ball seasons. Georgia came up empty in a pair of Tennessee debacles, and that’s really all that comes to mind in terms of being inept on offense. In most of the losses of the Willie era, Georgia scored enough to win with a decent defense.

Good point. It’s kind of like Oklahoma St.’s DC looks a lot better when the O scores 50 points a game. I do, however, think Bobo is doing a good job in conjunction with the D. As much as it pained me to see us milk the clock for 30 minutes last Saturday (only because I hate Auburn that much), it was comforting knowing there was no way we were going to give up 28 more points on defense.

Agreed, a good D makes everyone look better. And not turning the ball over. But of course, everyone knows thats Bobo’s fault too.

There were some big struggles last year, and some of those struggles were offensive (see bowl game). But the receiving corps (as a whole), the o line and running game have stepped up. Kids are executing the plays he is calling. I’ll take that over any offensive Trickeration to make up for inadequacies in the offense.

I’ve been one of his biggest critics for the past several seasons, but even I have to admit that Bobo has made massive improvements in the play calling area over the past 4-5 games. Hopefully that taste of blood will overpower the “turning conservative” before the 4th quarter mentality.

I agree with you Otto. My verdict is still out. I’m not sure I will ever be totally sold on Bobo as OC, but I do like what I am seeing here lately. It’s not just that we are scoring against crappy defenses. It actually looks like the game plan has change. I wrote a piece the other day that I think it may be because of our kicking woes.

The gameplan hasn’t changed, fellers. We’re still running the same offense. We’re still running the same power runs, the same draws on third downs, the same first-and-bombs that all of you guys have bitched about for so long.

Know what’s changed?

Player Performance.

The line is blocking better. Murray is throwing better balls. Runningbacks are making better cuts, and seeing holes better.

But hey, if it helps to prove your point that you were right to hate Bobo before, and will be right to like him now that he’s “changed his ways”, then by all means…go ahead with it.

Your analysis does tend to be borne out in what my admittedly amateur eyes tell me as I view a game.

This sentiment seems to be most apparent when noting that Murray has pitched only 2 INTs over the course of the past 5 games. It is further bolstered by the fact that UGa is averaging 4.6 yards rushing on 1st downs; when the Dawgs put the ball in the air they are hitting at a clip of a 195 rating.

One point of contention, Ben, regarding “running the same power runs.”

Until the second half of the FU game, much of UGA’s running was done from the shotgun, with the tailback moved up to H-back position.

The most effective running since has come with the TB deep in an I-formation, behind a FB. Most notably the entire second against Auburn, where we finally saw Crowell flourish. Man, he looks good getting the rock on the ole’ toss-sweep.

Crowell does seem to look a lot better coming down hill rather than getting the ball from the qb in the shot gun. I wish I had time to chart 3 & long (in field goal territory) play calls from the past two season versus those same calls now that Walsh is struggling. It sure seems like we are throwing it a bit more to Bennett and the likes instead of running it to set up a fg.

I give the D most credit for our 8 wins. But I’ll give CMB credit for running more plays with the hurry up. Time of possession and turnovers weren’t on the spreadsheet. Looking at ’07 thru ’10, 3 of those years weren’t anything to be proud of. CMB has been given plenty of chances to prove & redeem himself. Maybe he’s finally arrived.

This is how I remember him as a player. Just couldn’t figure him out. The offense is playing well and so he deserves credit. The players deserve their fair share too. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many of them executing at a high level.

A lot of folks seem to think a new OC would be a quick fix. Ask the Gators about that, even with a “genius” newly on deck. Frankly, I think the play-calling has been pretty stellar this year. We’ve been able to pass on everybody and run when we needed to against anybody (except BSU).

Call me crazy but I think Bobo got “better” when Richt lost some confidence in Walsh kicking field goals and told Bobo he had four downs instead of three. He knew he needed a TD and had a better chance to go for it. He got more agggressive in my mind.

Kicking helped but CMB has had success when he has a very good RB to lean on. Crowell has carried more and more of the load just like Moreno in ’07.

I still question if even half of Carlton Thomas’ potential has been used. He will not reach his potential getting handoffs up the middle. He needs the ball in space. The biggest complaint with Bobo is not using weapons up to their potential. If UGA does get LSU or Bama it will be a very interesting test.

Carlton Thomas is averaging 5.54 ypc, best for 11th in the league. He’s 22nd in the league in total rushing yards despite only playing in 7 games. The only other two guys with more yards in only 7 games played are Marcus Lattimore (USCe) and CoShik Williams (UK), who have 163 and 89 carries, respectively, to CTs 59. That ain’t to shabby for a backup who hasn’t played in 30% of our games this season.

I am beating a dead horse but check it out. The plays that did not work last year for Thomas are the ones he is getting the best results from this year. The difference is in execution (blocking).
With 8 in the box & 7 blockers (OL, TE, & FB leading the way), i like to see a back that hits the hole fast, makes a cut or finds a seam, & than makes the 8th guy miss rather than running into him. Both Crowell & Thomas have that ability.Second & long: a quick hitter or a draw up the middle with either Crowell or Thomas is always a good option in my opinion..

This is as awesome a response as I could have imagined. Good answer DV.
Mitch, Dawgvent’s antics are not representative of his own opinions but rather those of the lunatic fringe he pretends to represent.

I still believe that Bobo has not made any drastic improvement. His offense kept us in games & helped us win games that the defense was determined that we would lose. How many TD Passes did Cox throw? Bobo runs Richt’s O (with Richt’s input) better than it was run with Richt as the play caller. I have never had a problem with Bobo as the OC. I think the Results & the Stats would verify my position.

It’s true CMB runs the O better than CMR did. But in regard to “I think the Results & the Stats would verify my position.” Take another look at the spreadsheet for years ’10, ’09 and ’07. Maybe it’s the D, maybe it’s an easy schedule, maybe CMB has improved, but this year would be an outlier if you look at the overall numbers. He’ll need consistent good seasons to put an exclamation point on his performance as an OC.

The football problem at Kentucky was, is and always will be coaching. When Paul Bryant was HC there they won the SEC. When Rich Brooks was HC they fielded respectable teams up to his limitations as a coach. If somebody like Urban Meyer would take the UK job (highly unlikely) the Cats would be at least in contention for winning the SEC East within 5 years. They need to open the bank vault and hire somebody like that, but they won’t—’cause they’re Kentucky.

You know, a lot of people point to G. Malzhan as the prototypical good OC. Yet on the Auburn boards they are railing against Gus. People rail about Mularkey as well. I am beginning to think that OCs get the brunt of criticism for all teams. I wonder why?